Salvation Outside December
by RedTuna
Summary: What if in the anime Wolfwood did not die, but his death was concocted so he could get away and face his own enemies? Picks up from the middle of episode twenty-three, Rakuen, and will ultimately take you through the end of the series, following all the main characters. T for violence and swearing.
1. Unfinished Business

Hi, I'm Akai and this is my first serious story so I'll try my best to stay in character. Hope you enjoy!

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"This is the only way to do it!" Nicholas D Wolfwood coughs. "Bandage me, Tongari!" Lying on the floor, he hacks up more blood through his mouth and nose. "Yurgh-" Nicholas crumples into a ball and waits silently for Vash to help him.

Vash sighs and rolls his friend over, searching for the shots, hoping upon hope there are exit wounds. He finds two bloody lesions: one bullet went through the skin of Wolfwood's left arm; the other remains somewhere buried within his left shoulder. "There's nothing to clean it with," Vash frowns. "I'll staunch the bleeding, but you need to get back to the girls for help."

"No." Nicholas tries to sit up and only manages to prop himself slightly with his right hand. "Just tie something on and get going. I'll get it fixed-You need to go deal with Chapel and Cain. Legato's here somewhere, too."

"I'm not going to leave you!" Vash exclaims. He tears off a few pieces of his shirt and deftly ties them around Nicholas's upper torso. "This should help, but you need to get back."

Sure enough of his returning strength, Nicholas now manages to get up higher and punch Vash weakly. "They need to think I'm dead or this won't end. I need to get out of here and you need to go deal with Knives."

"How do you-"

"I can't tell you that right now," Nicholas characteristically dodges the question as he flexes and raises his left arm and hand a few times and finds them barely usable but still mobile. "Help me up."

Vash gets behind the priest and lifts his midsection to get Nicholas into a standing position. A folded paper is shoved in his face. "Take this," Nicholas tells him, wiping blood off his face. Vash raises an eyebrow. "Open it after it's done. It says where to find me. Make sure Milly gets the information." Nicholas looks away quickly and his eyes rest on his Punisher. "Take that with you. You'll need it. I can't carry it anymore, anyways."

Nicholas takes a few wobbly steps away from Vash. "We both have unfinished business. You need to go. Now. I'm dead to all of you; remember that." He shakes his head to clear it. The blood loss has had an obvious drag on his vigor. "I'll get away under cover of the fight."

Vash stares curiously at the paper, but quickly turns to admonish the other man once more. "That's-" It is too late. Nicholas is already gone.


	2. The Forgotten Town

Gunshots rang outside. Caught off guard by his friend's disappearance, Vash just continues to stare straight out the door to the small chapel. _He's gone_, was all Vash could think. Gunfire nicking off the side of the building brought him back to the present. He has two more to take care of.

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_I'll have to assume the fight's being taken to the outskirts with Cain._ Nicholas leans against some vacated building as he tries to catch his breath. He tries to wiggle his fingers to stop from losing the feeling in them."Hmph," he grumbles. "Where's my bike…"

Gun drawn, Nicholas makes his way through the eerily still town, trying to stay in the shadows. By the time he reaches his bike, his left arm is now limp. "Shit," he mutters, tossing the gun to the ground and reaching for his tools. He would have to finish up the work he started before he will be able to take off.

He works quickly and is on the beast in under fifteen minutes. He fumbles with his left arm and gets it inside his jacket so it wouldn't bother him during the drive. _This seems dangerous,_ he thinks, looking back and forth between his one good arm and the handlebars. _Do I lean on them?_ As if the situation could get much worse.

Somehow, Nicholas kicks off and starts out into the desert. He thinks back and remembers the closest town is Providencia, arond sixty-something miles to the east.

Along the way, a clump of buildings appears out of seemingly nowhere. Understanding he probably cannot make it much further, Nicholas stops for help. Once inside what appears to be the perimeter, Nicholas dismounts his bike and leaves it outside a small house. He walks around to the front and knocks as heavily as he can on the door. He blinks and the world moves. Glancing down at his shoulder he realizes how bad the situation really is.

"Hello?" he weakly calls. There is no answer, but a rustling can definitely be heard on the other side of the door. "Is anyone there?" he tries. " …." he starts, but the world slips away.

# # #

Once the threat has been safely diffused, Marlene opens her door to look at the visitor slumped against it. Her eyes widen when she realizes how hurt he is, and she runs to get help from the closest thing they have to a doctor: Rado.

Rado is the town's medicine man; more than a doctor. He knows how to treat wounds and help the sick but he never became an official doctor. He works for low fees and is content to help the people around him. When he arrives at the young woman's house and kneels beside the fallen Nicholas, he is surprised the man got this far, considering how unclean and full of sand his wound is.

The two townspeople manage to get him inside the healer's house and Rado sets to work on cleaning the wound. It is no easy task, and Nicholas appears to be coming down with something, to boot.

"Will he be alright?" Marlene tentatively asks as she gets ready to leave. She eyes the unconscious man warily.

The corners of Rado's mouth turn downwards. "Don't know. We'll find out soon enough…" When the lady leaves, he wipes some sweat from his head and sighs. He tries to allay his nervousness by remembering the man's words; that strange visitor. He picks up a syringe and walks steadily towards the unconscious priest. "Sorry, buddy, it has to be this way."

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Note: Sorry it takes me so long to update.. Been swamped with work and got sick. Hope you enjoyed another cliffhanger ;)


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